Dozens of GOP members of Congress have condemned the Biden administration for its handling of the hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) entering the United States.
According to a letter sent by Republicans to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the White House has participated in a “cover-up,” concealing information pertaining to the migrant children.
The letter claims the Biden administration “[cut] back on information sharing between HHS ORR and law enforcement related to unaccompanied children and sponsors,” while also stripping Customs and Border Protection officials of their “ability to conduct familial DNA testing,” making smuggling and trafficking children “much easier.”
“HHS must stop its cover-up and cooperate with law enforcement and Congress to end this crisis and protect unaccompanied children and the American people,” the letter, led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), reads.
“This is not a partisan issue,” the Republicans assert. “It can and should bring us together, as we try to protect Americans and UACs placed in HHS ORR custody alike.”
Those joining Grassley in the letter include Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Mike Crapo (R-ID), John Cornyn (R-TX), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Thune (R-SD), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Jim Risch (R-ID), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mike Lee (R-UT), Tim Scott (R-SC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), James Lankford (R-OK), Steve Daines (R-MT), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), John Kennedy (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Braun (R-IN), Josh Hawley (R-M), Rick Scott (R-FL), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Katie Britt (R-AL), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE), and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH).
The White House denied the Republicans’ allegations.
A White House spokesperson said the Biden administration has “taken action to protect unaccompanied children through exacting sponsor vetting for those caring for unaccompanied children and post-release services for all children in sponsor care. HHS is also implementing the strongest rule to protect unaccompanied children ever through the Foundational Rule on Unaccompanied Children, which further implements detailed policies and procedures providing for the safe and timely release of unaccompanied children to vetted and approved sponsors, requiring background and criminal records checks for all sponsors and adults residing in the potential sponsor’s household, strengthened post-release services to ensure child well-being and immigration compliance, and enhanced standards for private care facilities that house unaccompanied children.”
“It is outrageous that Republican Members of Congress are trying to end these protections for children through use of the Congressional Review Act to repeal this critical rule,” the spokesperson said.
As of September 6, there were “6,448 unaccompanied children in HHS’s care and the average length of time an unaccompanied child remained in ORR’s care was 34 days,” a fact sheet from the Unaccompanied Children Bureau says. “ORR is working to further reduce length of care in ways that do not jeopardize the safety or welfare of the children.”
More than 500,000 unaccompanied migrant children have entered the United States since 2021.
